The Complete Guide to Resistant Starch Foods and Health Benefits
Not all carbs are created equal! Resistant starch foods can boost your metabolism, balance blood sugar, and improve digestion. As a gut health dietitian, I’m sharing the best (and tastiest!) resistant starch foods to add to your plate.
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What Exactly Is Resistant Starch?
Resistant starch is a unique type of starch that resists digestion in your small intestine. Instead of being broken down and absorbed, it travels to your large intestine, where it acts like soluble fiber, feeding your beneficial gut bacteria. (1)
When the good bacteria in your gut feast on resistant starch and dietary fiber, they produce powerful compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
Resistant Starch Foods: Health Benefits
Gut Health & Digestive Wellness
Because butyrate is the preferred energy source for the cells lining your large intestine, resistant starch may help protect against colon cancer and other cancers. (2)
Research also suggests butyrate may help manage inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. (3)
Additionally, butyrate helps reduce intestinal permeability (4) (often called “leaky gut“), which has therapeutic implications for autoimmune disease, heart failure, and fatty liver disease.
Here’s great news for those with IBS: because resistant starch ferments slowly in the large intestine, it typically produces less gas than other high-fiber foods, making it easier to tolerate.
Plus, it’s low FODMAP, making it a good source of fiber for people with IBS.
Weight Management Support
Adding resistant starch to your meals increases feelings of satiety and fullness, which may help with weight management by naturally reducing calorie intake throughout the day.
In an 8-week trial, resistant starch led to a mean weight loss of 2.8 kg, with benefits linked to positive shifts in gut microbiota, particularly the growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis. (4)
Blood Sugar Control & Metabolic Health
Research has found that resistant starch may improve insulin sensitivity and help regulate blood sugar levels (5), potentially reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
While more research is needed to confirm all these benefits, the early findings are promising.
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Top Resistant Starch Foods to Add to Your Diet
These Green Banana Flour Brownie Bites are SO delicious and rich in resistant starch!
Ready to boost your intake of resistant starch? Here are the best food sources, including estimated amounts found in each food:
- Green banana flour. About 5 grams of RS (resistant starch) per 1 tablespoon. Green (unripe) bananas are another good source of RS, although not as high as the flour.
- Uncooked oats. About 3.3 grams of RS per 100-gram serving. Sorghum and barley are also good sources of RS.
- Lentils and beans. About 3-5 grams of RS per 100-gram serving.
- Cooked and cooled potatoes. About 2-5 grams of RS per 100-gram serving.
- Cooked and cooled rice. About 2.55 grams of RS per 100-gram serving.
- Cooked and cooled pasta. About 3.65 grams of RS per 100-gram serving.
- Raw (unmodified) potato starch. About 8 grams of RS per 1 tablespoon serving.
Notice a pattern? Many starchy foods develop MORE resistant starch when they’re cooked and then cooled. That leftover pasta salad or potato salad? It’s actually better for your gut than when it was freshly cooked!
How Much Resistant Starch Should You Eat?
While the average resistant starch intake in the United States is about 3-8 grams per day (6), 15 grams appears to be an optimal level for most people.
For even more robust gut health and metabolic benefits, aim for 20+ grams of resistant starch per day!
To Cook (or Not to Cook!)
This is where things get a little complicated. For some foods, such as oats, raw potato starch, and green banana flour, the resistant starch content decreases during cooking, so they are best eaten raw. (1)
For other foods, such as rice, potatoes, and pasta, resistant starch increases AFTER cooking AND cooling.
And in some cases, reheating these cooked and cooled foods can increase or decrease the amount of resistant starch, depending upon the variety.
For instance, resistant starch increases in cooked, cooled, and reheated yellow and red potatoes, but decreases in cooked/cooled/reheated russet potatoes.
To maximize the benefits, eat resistant starch foods either:
- In their raw form (as overnight oats or muesli; or added to smoothies or no-bake energy bites )
- Cooked and then cooled (like pasta salad, potato salad, rice bowls, & beans)
Note: Always cook lentils and beans thoroughly to eliminate potentially harmful lectins. The cooling process will still allow resistant starch to form.
Easy Ways to Incorporate Resistant Starch (+ Recipes)
- Make overnight oats instead of hot oatmeal.
- Prep pasta salad or rice salad ahead of time (both are great cold!)
- Include cooked beans or lentils in salads, chili, wraps, and tacos.
- Enjoy potato salad or refrigerated (then reheated) roasted potatoes.
- Add green banana flour to energy bites or smoothies.
The Bottom Line
Resistant starch is a simple, science-backed way to support your gut microbiome and overall health. By incorporating more of these foods into your diet, you’re giving your beneficial gut bacteria exactly what they need to thrive.
The best part? Most of these foods (minus the green banana flour or unmodified potato starch)are probably already in your kitchen. It’s just about trying new recipes and preparing them in ways that maximize their resistant starch content!
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Let’s Chat! What resistant starch foods are you already eating? Will you try any new ones? Do you have any questions about resistant starch foods or health benefits? Leave a comment!